1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic clothes drying machine and the method of drying clothes and more particularly to an improved structure in such machines for effecting the drying of small loads of clothing and the method of drying the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many clothes dryers utilize a horizontal axis rotatable drum for containing the clothes while they are subjected to the drying operation. The clothes are placed in the drum of the clothes dryer and the drum is rotated such that the clothes will be tumbled while heated air flows through the drum and clothes to thereby reduce the moisture content of the clothes.
Clothes dryers have timer arrangements for automatically controlling the machine during its drying run time. Typically a clothes dryer during a drying run has the temperature within the drum remaining relatively low because there is "loose" water readily available to be evaporated by the hot, dry air flowing through the clothes dryer drum. Near the end of the drying run the final moisture in the clothes is retained by capillary action and takes time to come to the surface of the clothes where it is available for evaporation by the hot, dry air. During this time in the drying cycle the temperature within the drum rises. At a present temperature a thermostatic switch is actuated to turn off power to the heaters. The clothes and interior of the drum are then cooled by unheated air flowing through the drum and continues until a reset temperature of the thermostatic switch is reached whereupon the heaters are turned on again. This cycling repeats itself until a present time is used up on the timer. During this cycling period some of the sensible heat in the air flowing through the drum is wasted and eventually vented outside the machine and has thus been unused for drying the clothes.
To save electrical energy and yet accomplish good clothes drying characteristics it is desirable to decrease the volume of the air flowing through the drum the portion of the drying cycle wherein the thermostatic switch is cycling as described above, and at the same time also decrease the temperature at which the air is heated by reducing electrical power to the heaters.
By this invention the above described desirable characteristics of a clothes dryer and the method to accomplish the same may be achieved.